Extra Hunting Opportunities Available in Salmon

Looking for a chance to fill your freezer next winter? Would you like an extra antlerless deer hunting opportunity? Then it's time to fill out an application for a white-tail or mule deer controlled hunt. Controlled hunt applications for deer, as well as for elk and antelope, will be accepted at the Idaho Department of Fish and Game until June 5. "Deer can cause problems for landowners by eating up their pastureland, cropland and haystacks," said Bret Stansberry, landowner-sportsman coordinator at Salmon Region Fish and Game. "During hard winters, there are also many more deer-vehicle collisions along major highways." Controlled hunts can keep problems under control, but only if there are enough applicants. To encourage more hunters to apply in the Salmon Region, applicants will be eligible for both a regular deer tag and a controlled hunt. Hunters are not required to have written permission from landowners before applying, but Stansberry suggests contacting landowners first. "You don't want to wait until after drawing a tag to try to get permission to hunt on private land," he said. Controlled hunts will occur between September 1 and December 31 throughout the Salmon Region except in Units 27 and 36. Landowners with depredation problems are encouraged to tell family, friends and neighbors that they can apply at any Fish and Game license vendor, mail in or drop off their applications at any Fish and Game office, or go to http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/apps/ch/ to apply online. Hunters can also apply by phone. For information or landowner contacts, contact Bret Stansberry at 208-756-2271.